Woman claimed €76k of dead mother’s payments ‘to keep her memory alive’

She told investigators what she did was ‘a way of keeping her mother alive’ and that she would pay every penny back.

Catherine Byrne, pictured leaving court this week, admitted she collected the pension and carer’s allowance after her mother died

Patrick O'Connell

A 55-year-old woman who fraudulently claimed €76,000 in pension payments in the name of her dead mother was warned this week that ‘jail is a real possibility in her case.’

Catherine Byrne can be seen leaving Dundalk Circuit Court on Thursday where Judge Daragh Hayes noted she ‘was not suitable for community service.’